About APPAL

There are a handful of CCA members who live on or are involved with land they want to steward and/or keep protected. People on rural land trusts and living sustainably on lands in intentional communities encounter unique problems unlike those in urban areas, and struggle for solutions without a network. In addition, historically, they have difficulty succession planning for the protection of their lands in perpetuity. To fill these important needs for the people, and to avoid having protected lands put back on the open market, Catholic Committee of Appalachia has initiated The APPAL Project.

Mission Statement: APPAL is and stands for “Alliance of People Protecting Appalachian Lands.”

Vision: To provide a community of solidarity and a network of support for those wanting to steward and preserve lands in the region, and to offer pro-active assistance to them in planning for protection in perpetuity.

CCA’s role in The APPAL Project is to provide an employee or volunteer as Facilitator to ensure the functions of the Alliance are carried out.

Functions of APPAL:

The Facilitator will set up, maintain and monitor a page on the CCA website for online forums for the Alliance to network and support one another and encourage new members.

Each January, the Facilitator will check-in with the members of the Alliance, and request from them an updated roster with name and contact information of the board members or intentional community members and the lands they seek to maintain.

The Facilitator will provide this updated roster to Alliance members for network and support, and keep it in CCA files.

The Facilitator will report the status of the lands in the Alliance to CCA’s board of directors at their first meeting of the year (usually February).

If necessary, the Facilitator will alert the Alliance that particular land is in need of succession planning, or in danger of being lost. The Alliance will then be available to assist in securing overseers, so the land can remain protected and in use for its intended purpose. If, for whatever reason, no one is left to ensure protection of the lands, the Alliance will be available to appoint appropriate people to do so, in accordance with the charter of the Trust or Community.

For more information or to become a member of APPAL, contact Jeannie Kirkhope at cca@ccappal.org You do not have to be a CCA member to be a member of APPAL.